Cello Sonata no 2 in G minor, opus 5 – Beethoven

by richibi

after my somewhat prolonged side trip into Bach country, though it is a landof many more wonders, I’ll get back on track, more or less, here, with Beethoven’s Second Cello Sonata, the other half of his Opus 5

till then, the cello had served as accompaniment, essentially, for other more discursive, higher pitched, less sonorous, less stentorious instruments

but Beethoven puts the cello back into the hottest seat in the house, right next to theubiquitouspiano, a requirement in any instance following the neglect of the cello during the intervening Classical Period, despite Bach’s earlier luminous illustration of its incandescent potential

the Opus 5, no 2 starts, audaciously, with an adagio, not always a wise choice, as you’ve heard me repeat herebefore, it can be unentertaining

but Beethoven gives his adagio tensionby introducing breaks often, which,rather than stultify, creates momentum,therefore a narrative, a story to follow

the rhythm is no longer adjusted to dance essentially, such a spin as isheard in the second and third movements, for instance, would surely sweep one off one’s feet

but the art is in the dance that Beethoven allows and creates between the piano and the cello, the first the filigree on the arm of the more grounded, more entrenchedlatter, the crystal, the silverware that adorn, symbolically, an however majestic oak table, the creamyHollandaise that makes an egg, however elemental, irresistible, the literary turns that might transform mere prose into,verily, poetry, icing on a cake, in a word, to complement, in stunning and equal cooperation, the inextricable counterpart